Scholz’s Political ‘Reliability’ Questioned in US as Berlin Waffles on Weapons for Kiev: Report

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht warned last week that Berlin had “reached a limit” on arms deliveries for Ukraine. On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted that German weapons support had proven “decisive” in recent fighting in Ukraine, but stressed that any new assistance would continue to be made only in coordination with allies.

America’s “patience” with the German government is reaching its end, and Washington is increasingly beginning to doubt Chancellor Scholz’s political “reliability” over the issue of weapons aid to Kiev, Germany’s Welt newspaper has reported, citing officials in ‘US government circles’ said to be familiar with the matter.

“So far, Germany has done what we asked for, even if it sometimes could have been done faster,” a source told the newspaper. “But now is the time when every ally should determine what they can do to help Ukraine win,” they added.

The White House reportedly considers Chancellor Scholz’s hesitation on acting independently as more than a “stylistic difference,” and is questioning his ‘fundamental loyalty to Kiev,’ according to the sources.

“We’ve been saying from the start that Ukraine must win,” an official said. German officials, on the other hand, have stuck to the talking point that Kiev “must not lose.” Washington now fears that the ‘turning point’ proclaimed by Scholz in February when he announced post-1945 Germany’s unprecedented rearmament could be over before starting.

“We have doubts,” a source told the paper. “We applaud the turning point, but now is the time to implement it,” the source said. Specifically, Washington is said to have questions about whether the improvements being made to the Bundeswehr will be permanent, and whether Berlin will be able to withstand popular pressure to reorient spending to social needs amid an energy crisis this winter.

In an appearance on German television on Sunday, US Ambassador Amy Gutmann hinted at a growing rift in policy, saying that while she welcomed German aid to Ukraine, “my expectations are even higher” and Berlin should “take a greater leadership role.”

Washington, Welt’s sources said, wants Berlin to take steps independently, and not have to ‘push and shove’ the chancellor forward at every step.

Along with Washington, Ukrainian officials have also slammed the German government on the weapons issue recently, with Ukrainian foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeting Tuesday about the “disappointing signals” coming from Germany over Berlin’s refusal to send heavy armor to Kiev.

“Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kiev is not?” Kuleba asked.

Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 13, 2022

Scholz and Defense Minister Lambrecht have indicated that Berlin would continue to only provide weapons to Ukraine in coordination with allies, and pointed out that the US itself has yet to deliver tanks to Kiev.

The highly developed, highly industrialized and energy intensive German economy has been hit particularly hard by Europe’s largely self-inflicted energy crunch and inflation crisis caused by the effort to reduce dependence on Russian energy to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine.

On Monday, anonymous White House officials told US media that the Biden administration was growing increasingly worried that its European allies could change their stance on Russia and the Ukraine crisis amid growing public discontent over out of control energy costs.

At his address at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that until recently, energy cooperation between Russia and Europe had been “very profitable” for European countries, who enjoyed energy prices several orders of magnitude below more expensive liquefied natural gas deliveries over the space of decades.

Putin stressed that Russia would be prepared to turn Nord Stream 1 and 2 on “tomorrow” if European countries lifted sanctions they placed on the pipelines after being pressured by the US to do so.

“And why are the Americans pressuring the Europeans? Because they themselves want to sell them gas for three times the price,” Putin said.